Spearheaded by burgeoning scientific and clinical research literature, psychedelics have reached a level of media coverage and popular interest that has not been seen for over half a century.
By “psychedelics,” we are referring to the unique class of substances that includes psilocybin (the active compound found in so-called “magic mushrooms”), LSD, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), ayahuasca, 5-MeO-DMT, and mescaline – each of which occurs in the natural world (except for LSD, which is a semi-synthetic compound). Ketamine and MDMA are sometimes categorized as “quasi-psychedelics” due to shared features in their subjective effects, although these synthetic molecules possess important differences.
Growing Body of Research
Psychedelic therapy is now being heralded as a potential game-changer in mental health and wellness by researchers and clinicians at a variety of top institutions, including Harvard, Yale, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCSF, and others. This excitement is based on the promising findings of a growing number of studies which have consistently demonstrated rapid, potent, and sustained symptom reductions for patients with depression, anxiety, PTSD and substance use disorders after only 1-3 dosing sessions. 1
These studies, mostly conducted with psilocybin – which is naturally found in over 200 species of mushrooms worldwide – have found sustained symptom reductions at six months, 2 one year 3 and, at the longest, 2.5 years in certain cases. 4
Clinical trials are also ongoing and near completion for a variety of additional indications, including chronic pain (neuropathic, cancer-related, and fibromyalgia), cluster headaches, and functional neurological disorders. This work is also motivated by the wide-ranging effects of psychedelics beyond their psychological effects, including their role as potent anti-inflammatory5 and pro-neuroplasticity agents. 6
A Far Cry From Drugs
A major source of the excitement regarding psychedelic therapy is its fundamentally different approach compared to conventional pharmaceutical treatments. 7 Psychedelic therapy is explicitly conducted within a bio-psycho-social-spiritual model that seeks to heal the underlying causes of mental dysfunction, as opposed to simply masking symptoms.
It is regarded as a curative approach that seeks to catalyze and leverage the brain and body’s innate healing capacity in order to create true lasting change and healing. […]
From Taboo to Treatment: The Resurgence of Psychedelic Medicine
